Wild Card
by vividlyvibrant
Summary: Allen Walker wants nothing more than to become a detective. That's not entirely easy when his team consists of dysfunctional lunatics and there's a gang of criminals at large who are impossible to catch. Will he ever learn the ropes? Yullen, Laven.
1. Welcome to the Family

Disclaimer: We don't even _wantt_ D. Gray-Man

ONE

The local precinct was busy, to say the least. There wasn't a soul in the room that _wasn't _occupied, bustling about with records and documents, and Allen Walker wondered if he would be able to keep up with the beat.

He looked down at the note in his gloved hand, reading it over again once or twice.

_See the Chief, he'll tell you what to do._

The white-haired man looked around the stationj awkwardly, not really knowing where to find the Chief. Maybe if he asked someone...

"Hey, kid, you're not supposed to be back here."

Allen looked up, surprised, at the owner of the deep voice. A tall, angry man stood there, glaring down at him.

"Oh, my apologies, I'm Allen Walker." He smiled, extending his hand towards the taller man. Naturally, he expected him to shake it.

The dark-haired man merely scowled at it, as if it were made of poison. He disregarded the other man's introduction, then, "Seriously, who let you back here?"

"Well, I let myself back here, since I'm supposed to be here. I'm here to speak to Chief Komui. I guess I'm... a detective-in-training."

"Detective? Don't you have to be this tall to be one of those?" The taller man snorted, holding his hand several inches above Allen's head.

Allen's gray eyes narrowed. Yess, he was a little short for his age, and yes, most detectives were taller then he was. That certainly did not give this guy the right to make fun of him for it.

"You can't possibly be this rude to everyone you meet." Allen asked, annoyed.

The other man snorted. "No, just the ones that piss me off." He reached out and roughly grabbed Allen's arm, pulling him towards the door.

"Just what the bloody _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Allen frantically attempted to break free of the dark-haired man's grasp, but to no avail.

"Kicking you're ass out of here."

"I already told you! I'm supposed to-"

"Is there a problem here, Detective Kanda?"

Both men turned around to see a tall, Asian man standing behind them, studying them from behind his rectangular glasses. The man, Kanda, let go of Allen's arm and glared. "Chief, this kid says he's this detective-in-training, or some shit."

"Well, that's because he _is_, Kanda. Please don't injure our newest edition to the force." The Chief smiled charmingly at the white-haired man standing next to Kanda.

"I told you." Allen muttered under his breath, before walking over to the Chief and shaking his hands. "Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Allen Walker."

The Asian man nodded, shaking Allen's gloved hand. "I've heard all about you from Marian. I'm Komui Lee, the Chief here. I apologize for Kanda's actions. He's not like that all the time, just most of the time."

Allen laughed lightly, before turning to follow Komui into his office. His gray eyes widened slightly as he entered. He didn't think it was possible, but the man's office was more chaotic then the entire station itself. Books were carelessly thrown about on the floor and tables, and papers were laying _everywhere_.

"I hope you don't mind the mess, Mr. Walker."

The white-haired man smiled weakly, sitting down on the small couch in front of the Chief's desk.

"Now, I was told that you have the qualifications of a detective, but you could use some slight training, correct?"

Allen nodded, smiling sheepishly. "I promise I won't be much of a nuisance."

Komui waved his hand indifferently. "Nonsense, Allen. You'll be very appreciated around here." He nodded thoughtfully, sifting through the papers on his desk. "But, this means we'll have to stick you with someone who can teach you the ropes."

Gray eyes watched as the Asian man held up two folders. His lips twisted into a smirk, making Allen's confidence waver. "You've got patience, right?"

The white-haired man opened his mouth to answer, but was suddenly interrupted.

"Hello? I'm back." A girl's voice came from behind Allen. He twisted in his seat to see a tall, dark-haired girl standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Lenalee, I'm so glad you're back safe and sound!" Komui jumped up and hugged her lovingly. Lenalee patted the taller man on the back softly.

"Who's this?" She asked pleasantly, smiling at Allen.

Instinctively, the white-haired man stood up and held out his hand to Lenalee, who took it graciously. "I'm Allen Walker."

The dark-haired girl's face lit up as she smiled him. "I'm glad to finally meet you! I've already heard so much about you. I'm Lenalee Lee, by the way."

Allen raised an eyebrow. "Lee?"

Lenalee nodded. "Yeah, I'm Komui's sister. He's kind of overprotective. I'm actually surprised he let you shake my hand." She winked. "You must be special."

"He's quite the gentleman," Komui smiled approvingly. "much better then those other two mongrels you hang out with, darling Lenalee."

Lenalee rolled her eyes and looked back at Allen. "So I'm guessing you haven't had the grand tour yet." She said, flashing him a sweet smile.

"No, but I'm guessing you're going to show me around, aren't you?" Allen smiled back, just as sweetly.

"Of course." The Chinese girl turned on her heel and led Allen out the office door. They walked down a small flight of stairs, into the main room that Allen had been in before.

"This is where everyone gets their paper work done. Each officer is assigned their own desk, and that's where they work on case files and reports."

They stood in the middle of the large room, and Allen couldn't help but feel he was in everyone's way. Other detectives were walking back and forth, all around the room, just like they were when he had walked in earlier.

"Is it always this busy?" The white-haired man asked, sidestepping so an officer could walk by him.

Lenalee tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Pretty much, but you get used to it after a while. Trust me. you'll be too busy to notice." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

The pair walked towards the back of the large room, where there was a small hallway, with two empty rooms on each side. Allen leaned towards one of the windows, cupping his hands around his eyes to get a better view.

"Interrogation rooms?" He asked.

"Mmm hmm," Lenalee hummed in acknowledgment. "Complete with one-way mirrors." She tapped the glass with her knuckles.

"How fancy." Allen replied jokingly. He followed Lenalee back down the hall, where they made a right. She guided him down another hall, which was much quieter then the space outside.

Lenalee reached out and opened a door that led to a small, dark room. Allen leaned forward, his eyes adjusting to the lack of light. He could faintly tell that it was empty, save four or five beds lining the walls. He turned to the girl behind him, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, for late nights." She shrugged lightly.

Gray eyes darted to the room once more. "You _do_ clean them... right?"

Lenalee rolled her dark eyes passionately. "Use your brain." she tapped her knuckles on his head for emphasis. "Of course we clean them." She swiveled on her heel and started to walk back down the hall, leaving Allen standing alone, rubbing the spot on his head.

The white-haired man caught up to her easily, dodging a few people along the way. The pair walked towards another brighter, friendlier-looking room. Allen sniffed the air around him, picking up the scent of... coffee? Was it coffee? He wasn't sure.

He followed Lenalee into the room, where he confirmed his previous suspicions. He had smelled coffee, and lots of it.

"And finally," the black-haired girl gestured around herself. "is the break room."

Allen looked around the room curiously. He saw a regular refrigerator, with sticky-notes and papers posted all over it. There was a counter against the wall, with a microwave and coffee machine, with a bulletin board on the wall above it. It was quite normal, he decided.

"You should have seen the body on this girl, Yuu, she was totally my type!"

The loud voice coming from the other side of the room stole Allen's attention. Sitting on one of the tables was a tall, one-eyed redhead. The man was waving his hands wildly, telling a story to another man who obviously wasn't interested. It took Allen a moment to recognize the other as the man from before. Kanda.

"Right, whatever, Cyclops. You act like I care." Kanda stood up and threw a soda can away, walking out of the room.

"Well, you can at least pretend, asshole." Lavi hopped up to follow him, before Lenalee and Allen caught his eye. "Who do we have here?" His green eye glinted with curiosity.

"Allen, this is Lavi. Lavi, this is Allen, he's the detective-in-training." Lenalee leaned closer to Allen and whispered in his ear, "He can be a little nuts, but you'll get used to it."

"Did you forget that I can still hear, Lena-leach?" The redhead grinned down at the girl, who smiled back up at him innocently. "Anyway," he turned back to Allen. "It's your first day?'

The shorter man nodded. "Miss Lee was just showing me around."

It wasn't a coincidence when Lavi's face lit up after the words left Allen's mouth. "Whoa, man. Where are you from?"

Allen raised an eyebrow at the taller man in front of him. "Excuse me?"

"Your accent! Is that, like, Birtish or something?"

Oh, right. His accent.

"Well, yes. I am from England, if that's what you're asking."

"You know, I've never met a Brit before. So, you're automatically my best British friend." Lavi waggled his eyebrows playfully.

Allen found himself being wrapped up in the redhead's cheerfulness. "Well, that's fine with me." He flashed the one-eyed man a smile.

"Hey, Gay and Gayer, stop flirting. Komui wants us in his office." Allen and Lavi looked up to see Kanda standing in the doorway.

"Us?" Lavi asked the other man.

"Yes, us." Kanda rolled his eyes. "Didn't I just say that?"

The redhead turned back to Allen. "Come on, let's go." He said, nodding towards the door.

The white-haired man trailed behind Lavi, but stopped before walking through the doorway.

"After you." He said with fake cheerfulness.

"Shut the fuck up, don't piss me off already. Well, never mind, it's kind of too late for that."

They pushed past each other, Allen narrowly dodging a swing to the face, Kanda getting an elbow to the ribs. Frowning, they stomped to the Chief's office.

"Ah, Allen, Kanda! Take a seat." Komui clapped his hands together, watching them over the rims of his glasses.

Lavi was already seated on the left side of the small couch, leaving the two other men to sit next to each other. Arms crossed, they sat down, refusing to look at one another.

"I see you two are getting along nicely." Komui announced, surveying the pair.

"Get to the point, Chief." Kanda said in a bored tone.

"As you wish, Detective." the Asian man sat down at his desk and held up two folders. "Allen, I've decided on your partners."

"Partner_s_?" Allen raised an eyebrow at the plural.

"That's what I said. From now on, you will be working with Kanda _and_ Lavi, until I say otherwise." Something about the Chief's grin made Allen doubt his decision.

"Fuckin' sweet!" Lavi pumped his fist in the air joyously. "I get to work with a real Brit!"

Kanda, on the other hand, wasn't so enthusiastic about the decision.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." His dark eyes were wide with disbelief. "First, you put me on a team with that dumbass," He glared pointedly at the redhead on the opposite side of the couch. "Then, you put me on a team with him _and_ the rookie fag?"

Allen frowned. "Hey-"

"I'm not fucking done." the Japanese man turned back to Komui, who was sitting at his desk calmly, chin rested in his upturned palm. "I swear to God, Komui, if you're serious, I'm going to do something so fucked... it'll... it'll be..." He paused, searching for the right words.

"Sound it out, Kanda." Allen snorted.

Kanda tensed and swung his fist quickly at the man next to him, who miraculously ducked down in time, dodging it. Instead, he hit Lavi square in the shoulder.

"Shit-" The one-eyed man gripped his shoulder tightly. "What the hell, Yuu?"

"It's your fucking boyfriend's fault!" Kanda yelled back.

"I'm not his bloody boyfriend!" Allen sat back up, glaring at the taller man next to him.

"Nobody asked you, brat!" The dark-haired man tensed to throw another punch.

Light footsteps sounded from behind him, and he was suddenly hit atop the head with a clipboard.

"What the fu-"

"Kanda, just calm down. You and I both know that Allen has to be teamed with you and Lavi, because you both can show him the ropes. It's not going to kill you, and you better not kill him." Lenalee said sternly.

Kanda crossed his arms and huffed. "...Fine."

"Wonderful!" Komui clapped his hands together and smiled. "Looks like everything is settled now."

"You better stay out of my way, loser." Kanda muttered, frowning.

"Fine by me, twat." Allen crossed his arms and glared.

Lavi stood behind the couch and swung his arms around their shoulders. "This the start of a _beautiful_ friendship. I can feel it already." He smiled widely.

"Get the fuck off of me, Cyclops." Kanda shrugged his arm off and stalked out of the office. Allen watched him as he left.

He couldn't help but get the feeling that this experience would be very, _very_ interesting.

* * *

We have wild imaginations, me and Freaklove, the brains behind this whole operation.

We're not sure how fast this is going to go, because she's very lazy, and Prince of Persia is owning my life right now. So, just roll with it, plz. We'll do what we can :D

BTW: We're avoiding Lavi's last name like the plague, so do not question it. Please, we're actually begging you not to ask us about it.


	2. Hey, It's Your Funeral

TWO

"Komui said you can have the degsk next to mine. It's been empty for quite a while." Lavi brushed the top of the desk off with his hands, then stepped back so Allen could see.

Allen stood awkwardly wkith a small cardboard box in his hands, looking over the desk admiringly. "I've never had my own desk before. Well, other then the one in my room," he mused out loud.

"It's pretty sweet, isn't it?" Lavi smiled.

"Mmm hmm," he hummed in agreement, putting the box down on the desk. He began to take things out one by one, setting them down next to each other. Allen didn't own much, but what he did have with him was very important to him one wayb or another.

Lavi picked up a picture frame, curiosity taking over him. It was a picture of a medium-sized yellow dog pawing at the camera. So he likes dogs, the redhead thought.

"What's his name?"

Allen looked up, surprised. "Oh, my dog? Timcanpy."

Lavi's green eye widened slightly. "Tim-what-y?" he snickered.

The white-haired man chuckled softly. "Timcanpy. I didn't really like 'Spike' or 'Max'."

"Ha, no shit." Lavi scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "I guess it fits him, though."

With a loud slam of the break room door, Kanda stomped towards his desk angrily. Passing by Lavi and Allen, the picture of Timcanpy caught his eye.

"That's one fuckin' ugly dog." He reached over Lavi's shoulder, grabbing the picture out of his hands. "What's on his _face_?" The dark-haired man was referring to the splotch of white in between the canine's eyes.

"Give that back!" Allen hopped up from his seat, snatching the frame away from the taller man. "And it's a birth mark..." he huffed, rubbing the picture with his thumb tenderly.

"No, that looks like AIDS." Kanda furrowed his eyebrows, frowning.

"Well you would know, wouldn't you?" Allen retorted.

"Look, you son of a-"

_"Detectives Kanda and Detective Lavi, please report to my office." _Komui's voice sounded over an intercom that Allen didn't know existed. He blinked up at Kanda, who sighed irritably.

"What now?" he groaned, walking towards the Chief's office.

Allen silently wondered what he was supposed to do while they were gone. Lavi, picking up on his confusion, slapped him on the back playfully.

"Here," he pushed Allen towards his desk. "Play solitaire... or something." He ruffled the younger man's hair lightly.

"Mmm, I'll make sure to do that, _Detective_." Allen said sarcastically, smiling.

"Kid, you already fit in, don't you?"

Allen sat at his desk, spinning around in his chair impatiently. He began thinking about his day, and he had to say it was going along nicely. As he waited for Lavi to get out of Komui's office, he began moving things around on his desk idly. There really wasn't much to do when you were in training, he thought to himself.

"Chill, Chief. It's not like we'll let him die." Allen turned around to see Lavi and Kanda sauntering out of Komui's office, the redhead waving his hand indifferently. Allen smiled as he walked up to him.

Lavi grinned as he threw an arm around the younger man's shoulders. "Pack up, Brit. We're going on a field trip."

"Right now? Where could we possibly go? It's only my first day." Allen raised an eyebrow, looking at the detective curiously.

"Well, we've got to teach you something today, right?" Lavi shrugged as he opened up his desk drawers, grabbing his badge and gun. Allen followed as the redhead moved towards the front door, where they grabbed their jackets and walked outside.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?" Allen asked. Lavi just grinned and winked.

"You can ask Kanda, he's the one driving."

They stopped in front of a small black Impala. Allen could see Kanda waiting in the driver's seat impatiently, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"You're not bloody serious," Allen muttered, eyes wide with astonishment. "I have to get in a car with that man?"

Lavi laughed out loud at the younger man. "Oh, come on, Al. I have to deal with his secret-samurai ass everyday." He slapped Allen on the back playfully, pushing him to the car door.

The British man sighed and slipped in the back seat hesitantly, while Lavi jumped in the passenger seat and immediately started to mess with the radio.

"How many goddamn times do I have to tell you?" Kanda growled out, slapping Lavi's hand away from the radio dial. "Stop touching that. When I want you to touch it, I'll fucking tell you."

The one-eyed man snickered. "_Want_ me to touch it?"

"What do you mean-" The Japanese man's suddenly eyes narrowed. "You're fucking disgusting."

Lavi continued to laugh, and Kanda backed out of the parking spot quickly, mumbling angrily.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Lavi's sudden outburst made the two other men jump.

"I almost forgot!" The redhead grinned wolfishly, leaning forward and opening up the glove box of the car. From the driver's seat, Kanda groaned.

"Do you have to wear that goddamn thing every time we go out?" he growled.

"Yes!" Lavi shot back, pulling out a black and green headband. Allen sat forward curiously in his seat, watching as the redhead folded the cloth up and tied it around his forehead, giving his wild red hair even more volume.

"Why do you wear that?" Allen asked innocently.

Lavi peered at him from the corner of his eye, smiling. "Not sure. A lucky charm, maybe. I think it gives me powers-"

"Shut the fuck up." Kanda mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It just makes you look like an idiot."

"You're jealous, aren't you, Yuu?" The redhead shrugged. "I mean, I can get you one if you really want one." His face lit up and he nudged the Japanese man with his elbow. "We could be bandana buddies. We could even get one for Al!"

"Nope."

"But, Yuu, we could-"

"Try again."

"Yuu!"

"No!"

"Pardon me," Allen asked after a few minutes of Lavi and Kanda bickering. "but where exactly are we going?"

Kanda grunted and left Lavi to explain their case to the British man. The redhead twisted around in the passenger seat to look at Allen.

"Well, Komui wants us to check out some reports of gang violence downtown. Nothing major, I guess. Just some complaints." He said in a bored tone.

Allen nodded. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Stay out of our way." Kanda replied, glaring at him through the rear-view mirror.

The white-haired man huffed, crossing his arms and turning back to Lavi, who rolled his eye playfully. "Pay attention to me, kid, and pick up on my swift and skillful moves." He grinned wildly, reaching out to ruffle Allen's hair. Allen turned to look out the window in an attempt to hide his smile.

"So... this is it?" Allen asked as he slid out of the backseat of the car.

"I wouldn't have parked the car if we weren't supposed to be here, brat." Kanda rolled his dark eyes, stepping out of the car.

"For your information, I was asking Lavi, twat." He mumbled, crossing his arms.

"What does that even fucking _mean_?" The Japanese man snapped back, glaring.

"Oh, right, I seem to have forgotten. You're much slower than the rest of us, aren't you?"

"Do you _want _to die?"

"Guys, guys!" Lavi stepped forward, holding his hands up. "Calm the hell down. Let's make love, not war." He said calmly, remembering to wink at Allen, who blushed lightly.

"Jesus Christ, you are so gay." Kanda shook his head, walking away from the two.

Lavi smiled and waved his hand indifferently. "Whatever, Yuu." He turned to Allen. "Are you ready to rock n' roll?"

"Something tells me I don't have much of a choice at this point."

"Not really."

"Then I suppose I'm ready." He took a deep breath, and followed Lavi down the street.

Allen began to think that maybe, just maybe, Lavi wasn't aware of how poor his decision-making skills were. The man was completely and utterly insane.

Why did he think that? It's simple actually.

"No, seriously, I'm not even kidding. He's Italian! He really is!" The redhead was trying very, very hard to convince a couple of local Italians that Allen, was in fact, one of them.

Kanda had gone inside a local store to ask some questions, leaving Lavi and Allen to wait outside. The three men had come up and threatened him, and instead of doing what any other police officer would do, Lavi thought befriending them would be a much easier solution. Therefore, Allen had magically become Italian.

"You're pullin' my chain, kid." One of the large men said, crossing his thick arms.

"On the contrary, my good friend. He is ninety-percent Italian. Aren't ya, Al?" Lavi nudged the younger man in the ribs, winking. Allen shook his head frantically, his gray eyes pleading. Either Lavi was blind in his only good eye, or he didn't care if he died.

"Err... well..." The white-haired man looked around him for a quick escape route.

"This kid don't even look Italian." The man standing closest to him said.

"Well, nah, remember Pauly's broad? She was a natural fuckin' blonde."

The man turned back to Allen, narrowing his eyes. "Say somethin'."

Lavi stepped forward quickly, waving his hands. "He's actually quite sick right now. So even if he wanted to say something, which I'm sure he does, he wouldn't be able to!" He nodded, as if reassuring himself that made sense.

"He doesn't look sick."

"Um... I guess he-" Lavi blinked, trying to think of another excuse. "Say something, Al." He gulped.

"That's enough. I think you're lying." The larger man said.

"We don't like liars." Another replied, stepping forward.

"You know what we do to liars?" The third man cracked his knuckles.

"Take them out to dinner?" Lavi smiled sheepishly. He turned to Allen and whispered, "If we die, I want you to know that you're the coolest Brit ever."

"You've gone barmy, Lavi!" Allen whispered agitatedly, backing up right into a wall.

The slightly smaller man coughed into his fist. "Make it quick." He said to the other two.

"We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!" Lavi tensed, flinching away from a punch that never came. Why wasn't he being hit in the face right now?

"You do know they're police officers, right?" A familiar deep voice sounded in their ears, causing the two to jump.

The three men turned around to where Kanda was standing, arms crossed. "You mean these two?" One of the men asked.

Kanda smirked. "Yeah, them. The wannabe-pirate and the, uh," He coughed lightly. "the Italian."

The men stared blankly at one another, and after contemplating the risk of assaulting a couple of police officers, they had decided to hike it, much to Allen and Lavi's relief.

"Whoa, that was fucking insane, wasn't it!" Lavi exlaimed, shaking his friend's shoulders. "We almost died!" Excitement sounded in his voice. "They could have shanked us or something!"

Allen, on the other hand, wasn't so enthusiastic about the experience. "We... we almost died. I almost died on my first day..." He said blankly, blinking his gray eyes.

Kanda reached out and smacked Lavi on the back of his head. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'm going to fucking kill you. Both of you." He glared at Allen, who was paying little attention to them. Turning back to Lavi, he frowned. "I'm now positive you had to fuck somebody to get your job, because that was ridiculous."

The dark-haired man stalked down the street to where their car was parked, leaving Lavi and Allen standing on the sidewalk.

The redhead tenderly rubbed his head. "I mean, we weren't really going to die, were we?" He asked no one in particular.

Allen, who had finally snapped to, stared at Lavi with astonishment. "You must be bloody insane, Lavi. I should punch you for putting me through that!"

Lavi smirked. "But are you going to?"

The white-haired man paused and rubbed his chin. "Well, I guess not..."

"Then there's no hard feelings!" He gave Allen a thumbs-up and smiled. Allen sighed, but no longer felt any anger towards the other man. How did Lavi do that?

The one-eyed man laughed again. "Come on, kid. You did pretty good for your first day. You know, not dying and all." He grabbed Allen's wrist and began pulling him towards their car.

* * *

Goddamn Police. Don't respect nothin'. (LOL THE GODFATHER)

We have done a poor job at giving background information, haven't we? Sorry about that.

As for ages, Allen is probably, like, twentyish. Kanda and Lavi are twenty-three and Lenalee is twenty-one :D

This takes place in New York, by the way. Yeah, they're east coast kids.


	3. Coffeelocks

THREE

"You didn't get anything? No leads, no _nothing_?" Komui asked, adjusting the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

"Nothing." Lavi shook his head aldmost shamefully.

Kanda scratched his stomach lazily. "The lady inside the store didn't know anything. Or at least, she wasn't going to tell me." He rolled his dark eyes.

Komui sighed, peering at the clock on the wall. "You guys can go ahead and take off. We'll follow up on this tomorrow." The three exchanged nods, then Lavi and Kanda walked out of the office, where Allen was waiting.

"How did it go?" He asked, smiling sheepishly.

Lavi grinned, brushing off the lack of success. "It's cool. We don't have any leads right now, so Chief gave us the word to go home."

Allen nodded, walking back to his desk to get his stuff. Halfway there, he stopped in his tracks. He reached down and patted his pockets, frowning.

Lavi folloyhwed him, a concerned look on his face. "What's up?"

"I seem to be out of money for a cab..." Allen scratched the back of his head. "I swore I had enough money when I left my apartment this morning."

From his desk, Kanda snorted. "Idiot," he muttered under his breath.

Allen threw him a dirty look before turning back to Lavi. "I really did have the money, but it must have fallen out, or-"

The redhead chuckled, ruffling the shorter man's hair. "Relax, Brit. I gotcha covered. I can give you a ride."

With a relieved sigh, Allen smiled. "You're a lifesaver, Lavi. Thank you."

"Aww, cut it out, Al. You're making me blush." The one-eyed man grinned.

Kanda, who had finished locking the drawers his desk, coughed into his fist. "I'm leaving, because you girls are gonna make me puke."

"Girl?" Allen snickered. "Your hair is longer than Lenalee's!"

"The last time I checked, your hair was white, so shut the fuck up." Kanda retorted.

Lavi watched the two with amusement, tapping his chin. "You know, you two come off as a married couple. Since you argue so much." He cracked a grin.

"Look, brat! Your fagness rubbed off on me." Kanda glared, brushing off his arms for emphasis.

"Way to be mature, Kanda." Allen crossed his arms. "And fagness isn't even a word."

Lavi and Allen walked out into the cool New York evening, relishing in the fresh air. They turned the corner of their building, walking towards the parking lot. Fishing around in his pocket, Lavi pulled out his keys, nodding towards a red '65 convertible Mustang. Allen's eyes soon followed.

Now, Allen wasn't the manliest of the men in the world, but he knew his cars. Pretty well. The British man hurried over to the car, running his finger along the side.

Lavi laughed as he watched Allen leaned over the door to look at the interior. _Leather._

"How did you even get this car?" Allen asked, admiring the tires.

"She's beautiful, ain't she?" The redhead huffed up with pride. "She was my grandfather's," he opened the door to the driver's seat, sliding in. "and now she's mine."

"You sure take good care of it." Allen ran his hand over the seat.

"Hey, she's not an 'it'." Lavi chastised. "He didn't mean that," he whispered, rubbing the dashboard tenderly.

Allen shook his head at the sight before him. "You've gone completely barmey, Lavi."

Lavi grinned as he turned the key in the ignition. "Those are the kind of words that make me wish I was British..."

They backed out of the precinct's parking lot, turning onto the street. Lavi reached for the radio, switching it on and turning it up. Loud. Allen tried not to frown, because it was some rap song he didn't know or wanted to listen to, for that matter. The volume was up so loud, the beat vibrated through the entire car.

"Err... Lavi?" he asked, raising his voice slightly over the music.

The redhead cupped an ear around his ear, grinning. "What's that?"

"Lavi! It's a little loud!" Allen yelled, feeling a headache coming on.

"Oh!" he quickly turned the dial down, smiling apologetically at Allen. "Right, I forgot you guys listen to techno and shit in the UK. My bad."

Allen wasn't sure how he should have taken that, but it didn't matter because Lavi had distracted him by asking the way to his apartment.

"It's on... 14th Street, I think," the white-haired man said unsurely.

"Ah, I know 14th Street. I know a shortcut, even!" Lavi said excitedly, sharply turning down a dark road. Now, Lavi had lived in New York all his life. So, naturally, he would know all the ins and outs of the city. This didn't make Allen feel any more comfortable, though.

The British man warily watched the dark buildings as they passed them, which was expected, but what he did _not _expect to see was a small girl with an umbrella walking down the sidewalk by _herself_.

"Lavi!" Allen yelled, eyes wide. "That... She's going to be... Lavi!"

"What, what?" the redhead stared at him, trying to understand what he was saying. "Calm down, man. What's wrong?"

Allen grabbed his arm, pointing out the window. "There's a little girl walking down the street, alone!"

Lavi's green eye widened with concern, because the last thing you want to be doing on this street was walking alone. He looked in the rearview mirror, but nothing was there.

He blinked once or twice, twisting in his seat to look behind him. "You sure you're not seeing things? 'Cause there's no one there."

"I did!" Allen frowned. "She was short, and she had black, spiky hair. And she had an umbrella!"

"But it's not raining."

"Bloody hell," Allen rolled his eyes. "I know that, Lavi. But she was there, I saw her." He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, sitting back in his seat. "Hmm..."

"Well, hey, today was a rough day." Lavi sighed. "You need some R&R, brother."

Allen silently agreed, and as they drove towards his apartment, he began to think that maybe he really was just imagining things. That was the only reasonable explanation, right?

"Here you are," Lavi grinned as they pulled up outside Allen's apartment building, arriving much faster than Allen expected. He thanked the redhead and stepped out of the car before Lavi stopped him.

"Why don't I walk you to your door?" He smiled, getting out of the car.

"No, that's not necessary, Lavi, but thanks for the concern." Allen reassured him as politely as he could, not wanting it to sound rude.

"Dude, come on. Do you know how wrong it is to refuse a gentleman? I can _not_ be losing my gentlemanly touch," the redhead mused aloud.

"Gentleman? Ah, I hadn't noticed." Allen grinned playfully, chuckling at Lavi's heartbroken expression. "But I guess I can't refuse the offer."

"No one ever has," Lavi shrugged indifferently, smirking.

Walking up the steps of the apartment building, Lavi couldn't help but get a sudden feeling of déjà vu. The one-eyed stopped in his tracks, looking around him. Have I been here before?

"Is something the matter, Lavi?" Allen asked, a concerned look on his face. The younger man's voice grabbed Lavi's attention, snapping the red head out of whatever trance he was in.

"Naw, it's nothing. Come on," the redhead gestured for Allen to keep walking. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Lavi focused on his new partner walking in front of him. He had already grown very fond of the British man in the couple hours they have known eachother. Lavi wasn't sure if it was because the man's accent was _fucking cool, _or because Allen was incredibly cute, but it didn't really matter to him.

Walking into the building, Lavi smiled at Allen's attempt at small talk.

"This isn't the first apartment building I would have picked, but it was one of the only ones that allowed pets," the white-haired man explained. "And it isn't very far away from work."

Lavi, who had forgotten that Allen had a dog, immediately perked up at the word 'pets'. "Can I see your dog?"

The question caught Allen off guard. "Well-"

"Sweet!" Lavi pumped his fist in the air. The young man really did get excited over the oddest things, Allen concluded.

The pair stepped into the elevator and made their way up to the fourth floor. Allen's apartment was the fourth door on the right. From where they stood, Lavi could hear a faint whine coming from behind the door.

"Tim knows I'm home," Allen smiled.

Lavi watched as the younger man felt around his pockets for his keys, and after opening the door, Lavi was greeted with medium-sized yellow puppy, known as Timcanpy.

"Hey, pooch," the redhead crouched low to the floor so the canine could sniff his hand. Almost immediately, Tim began rubbing his nose against Lavi's palm. Lavi rubbed his head in return.

"He likes you, don't you, boy?" Allen cooed.

"Of course he likes me, I'm Lavi. Everyone likes Lavi." He looked up at the British man, a devilish smirk on his handsome face. "Wouldn't you agree, Brit?"

"You really are rather vain, aren't you?" Allen grinned.

"I prefer the word 'confident', actually." He stood up and brushed off the front of his pants. "Vain makes me sound like a douche."

"Arrooo," Tim whimpered happily. Lavi glanced down and winked at the puppy.

"Well, I guess it's time I head off." He took one last glance around the apartment before turning and heading out the door. "Oh, yeah, before I forget," he called over his shoulder. "You're _real_ training starts tomorrow."

"_Real_ training?" Allen squeaked. "Wait, then what was today?"

Lavi laughed aloud. "Jesus, kid, you crack me up. Today was just... _conditioning_," he said with a grin.

Allen sighed with exasperation as he said goodbye to the redhead and locked the door behind him. Tim was laying on the ground in front of him, wagging his tail happily.

"You're lucky, boy." He scratched the canine behind his ears. "You get to lay around here all day, you don't have to go to work or anything. I wish I could be you..." Realizing what he had just said, he shook his head. Had he just compared his life to a dog's?

Maybe it _had_ been a long day.

* * *

Sometimes, on rare occasions, Allen would wake up feeling better than usual. Amazing, even. This morning was one of the mornings.

He wasn't usually a morning person. He wasn't a night person either. But he felt different today. Fantastically different.

"Good morning, Tim!" Allen smiled down at his dog who was rolling around on the floor, happy to see his master in such a good mood this early in the morning.

"Roooo," the canine whined happily, wagging his tail.

Allen swung his legs over the side of his bed then reached down to pet Timcanpy. "Somebody's happy, isn't he?"

"Arrroooo."

"Yes, I know."

The British man walked in his bathroom, gazing at himself in the mirror. He tugged at a few wayward locks of hair, trying to pull them back into place, which wasn't really working. Ignoring the unruly spikes, he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and began to brush his teeth.

From the living room, Timcanpy let out a high-pitched whine, followed by the clang of the metal dog bowl.

"Wai' a shecon', Tim!" Allen called while brushing his teeth. He quickly rinsed his mouth and then hurried towards the kitchen.

"Woof!" the yellow dog barked, pawing at his food bowl.

"I know, I know, you want your breakfast." Allen picked up the bowl and walked towards the cupboard. Pulling out a bag of dog food, he filled the bowl to the brim.

"There," he said as he placed the bowl back down on the floor.

Walking back into his bedroom, the white-haired man pulled on a black sweater and a pair of jeans. The alarm clock on his bedside table read 5:45. He had to be at work by six, so he had just enough time to catch a taxi.

"I'll see you later, boy! It's time for me to head to work," Allen smiled, scratching Timcanpy behind his ears.

"Arooof!"

"I'll miss you too, boy," he cooed.

He patted Tim on the head one last time, before standing up and walking out the door, locking it behind him.

On the way to the elevator, Allen changed his mind and decided to take the stairs that morning. Just because, he thought. Four flights wasn't that bad anyway.

His shoes thumped rhythmically against the metal stairs, which echoes throughout the stairwell. Reaching the bottom, he smiled when he realized he hadn't even broken a sweat.

Walking out of the building, Allen's smile faltered when he realized _this_ was the part of the morning he hated. He didn't have a car, so he had to take a cab to work. Allen Walker was terrible at hailing cabs.

He had seen a thousand people do it a thousand times, but he could never do it right himself. Maybe it was the driver's fault. Maybe they just didn't like him. He was a very likable person, in his own opinion.

Sighing, the white-haired man stepped to the corner where a few other people were standing. Yellow cabs dotted the street, all going in the same direction. This really shouldn't be this hard, Allen thought to himself as he waved his arm in the air. It was painfully obvious that the people he was standing with were doing a better job than he was, because they all had gotten picked up before him.

"Ay, Jazzie. It looks like this one is new around here."

"Ha ha, I would say you are correct, David." Two playful voices sounded behind Allen, making him turn around quickly.

"Excuse me?" he asked the two men behind him. They were both tall, one with long blonde hair, and the other with spiky black hair. Allen cringed at the sight of the blonde man's painful looking lip piercing.

"Excuse you?" the dark-haired man cocked an eyebrow, frowning slightly, before snapping his fingers in realization. "Oh, our bad, we haven't introduced ourselves."

The blonde-haired man leaned forward and smiled, his lip piercing stretching with the movement. "I'm Jasdero, and this is my very best brother, David, but you can call him Davey. He likes that."

David punched his brother on the arm carelessly. "No I do not, ya idiot." Jasdero winced and began rubbing his arm gingerly.

"Oh, well," Allen offered his hand to both men. "I'm Allen Walker."

David smirked down at Allen, while Jasdero shook his hand jerkily. "You know, that's a boring name. I don't really like it."

Allen furrowed his eyebrows. "But, you're brother's name is David," he deadpanned.

"I don't like that either. I think it's stupid."

"Shut up, bastard. I think your name is stupid, too," the dark-haired man snapped back, his mouth twisting into a smirk.

Allen watched the two silently, not sure what to do. Did he know these two? Did they even know him? He coughed into a gloved fist lightly, smiling at the brothers. "Well, gentlemen, it's been very nice to... uh, meet you, but I must be getting off to work now."

"Work? Aren't you only, like, sixteen?" David raised an eyebrow, and Jasdero chimed in with, "Sixteen? Naw, he looks at least seventeen."

Seventeen? Really? The British man sighed, almost annoyed. He knew that, for a fact, he did not look seventeen. He was twenty-years-old, damn it.

"I'll have you both know that I turned twenty in December."

"Shoot, you could'a fooled me. But I guess you do look pretty mature. Look at that necktie, Jazzy," David flicked the cloth around Allen's neck and smirked.

Swatting his hand away, Allen huffed. "I really have to get to work now. I don't want to be late, but I'm sure I'll see you two...around. It was nice to meet you, David and... Jasdero?"

The long-haired man nodded, and both brothers watched with glee as Allen, again, tried to get a cab. After about the fourth time their white-haired friend was ignored, the twins decided to step in.

"Hey, Walker," David called from behind Allen. "it looks like you could use a tad bit of help. Am I right, Jazzie?" He elbowed his brother gently in the side.

"Yup! We can help ya, Allen. 'Cause that's what pals do for eachother. We're pals, right?" The blonde man slung his lanky arm around Allen's shoulders, pulling him close.

_Pals? No, we are not pals. _"Ah, well, yes. Of course we are pals." Allen chuckled nervously underneath Jasdero's arm. "But you really don't have to help me-"

"Oh, no! Not a problem at all," David grinned as he walked towards the curb. "Me n' Jazzie are excellent at this sorta thing. Watch and learn, Walker."

The two brothers stood on the edge of the sidewalk, and with a whistle and the snap of fingers, they had a cab pulling up in front of them.

Allen couldn't tell the difference between what they had just done, and what he had been doing all along, but he was grateful. "That was bloody quick. How did you learn how to do that?"

"Been livin' here our whole lives," David nodded.

"It's easy once you get the hang of it," Jasdero assured.

Allen thanked the twins happily, then glanced at his wristwatch. _5:55. _

He had five minutes to get to work, or else he would have to face the satanic wrath of Kanda. Besides, being late on your second day is extremely unprofessional. Allen didn't like being unprofessional.

"Well, I must be off now. David, Jasdero," he nodded a goodbye. "Thanks once again. I'm sure I'll see you around." The twins waved as Allen slid into the cab and rode off.

"We will see him around, won't we, Davey?" Jasdero looked over at his brother, who was still waving.

"Oh, yeah," the dark-haired man smiled. "We'll see him around."

* * *

_5:58. _

Two minutes to spare, Allen thought to himself with triumph as he breezed through the doors of the presinct smoothly. He huffed up with pride when the Cheif happened to walk by

"Good to see you here on time, Walker." The man peered at him over the rim of his glasses, smirking. "Kanda would like to see you."

Allen's smile faltered. "Kanda would _like_ to see me? Or he _has_ to see me?"

"Detective Kanda doesn't _like_ to see anyone. Either way, you're going to have to go find him."

"Where, exactly, could he possibly be?" Allen tapped his chin with a gloved finger. "The breakroom?"

Komui shrugged. "Worth a shot. I'm not that animal's keeper, you know," the Chinese man replied as he walked off, having other business to attend to.

Allen decided to go with his earlier notion and look in the breakroom for a certain Japanese man. Fortunately for him, Kanda wasn't really that hard to find.

"How about you all wait one god_damn_ minute, so I can drink my fucking coffee in peace. It's six o-fucking-clock in the morning, people." The dark-haired man snapped angrily, earning bewildered gazes from the people around him.

Ignoring the feeling that he might be risking his life, Allen walked up to the the Japanese man slowly. "K-Kanda? You wanted to see-"

The British man's words were cut short when a hand was pushed in his face, stopping him. Allen watched wide-eyed as Kanda sipped his coffee slowly.

Whispers began to flood the room around him.

_The new guy just _spoke_ to Kanda before he had his coffee! _

_I know, and Detective Kanda didn't kill him! _

_That kid has guts, but what's with the scar on his face? _

_Ew, you're right._

Allen chose to ignore his co-workers as he waited patiently for Kanda to drink his coffee. The Japanese tipped the cup all the way back, then sat down at one of the tables.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

"Um... the Chief told me _you_ wanted to see _me_." Allen replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, fuck. Yeah, you're right." The dark-haired man sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's too early for this shit."

"Kanda, this is your _job_."

"Oh, is it really? Hmm, I wondered why I had been coming here all these years. I'm glad you pointed that out for me, brat."

"Forget it, you're hopeless." Allen sighed, crossing his arms. "Now if you would so kindly tell me what you needed me for, I can be on my way."

Kanda rested his arms on the back of the chair, is long-sleeved shirt stretching over his biceps. "You're coming along with me and Red today, we've gotta do some undercover work."

Undercover work sounded like real sneaky stuff, which made Allen happy. One step closer to becoming a full-fledged detective, he thought. Smiling, he nodded to Kanda and the rest of his co-workers in the breakroom, then turned to leave.

"Oh, by the way," Kanda called from behind him. "Don't fuck anything up tonight."

"Don't worry your pretty little head, _Kan-da,_" the British man replied with fake cheerfulness. "Everything is going to be just fine."

* * *

HOLY UPDATES BATMAN!1!

That really was a long wait. Please accept our sincere apologies :D


	4. Maneater

FOUR

_There were problems with the original document for this chapter, so I had to re-upload it. Sowwie for the inconvenience :)_

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* * *

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Allen patiently sat on the couch in Komui's office as the Chief briefed Kanda and Lavi on the details of their job that night.

"It's simple, really," Komui explained. "We have reasons to believe that a woman by the name of Lulubell knows a little something or two about the Noah. So, consequently, you're going to have to get that information out of her. How you achieve that is up to you, just don't-"

"Give away your identity," Lavi finished the sentence for him. "We've done this a million times, Chief! Don't worry about a thing." He grinned, giving the man a thumbs-up.

Komui sighed, resting his chin in an upturned palm. "When you say it like that, Lavi, I can't help but worry."

As the three men were exiting, Komui stopped Allen, asking him to stay behind for a minute.

"Allen, do me a favor and protect my darling Lenalee from those two... _animals! _Don't let any filthy men touch her. In fact, don't even let a man _look _at her. Keep her safe, Allen. I can trust you with this task, can't I?" Komui gushed, making Allen feel slightly under pressure.

"Of course, Chief. I'll look out for her," he replied, giving his usual, charming smile.

Coughing into his fist, Komui adjusted the glasses on his nose. "That is all."

* * *

Lenalee played with the hem of her skirt nervously. "You've got your gun?"

"Yeah."

"Is your microphone hidden?"

"Yeah."

"Your ear piece fits, right?"

"Yeah."

"Don't forget your gun."

"I won't."

"Wait, I can sort of see your micropho-"

"Don't touch me."

"Okay..."

Kanda crossed his arms and sneered. "Why the fuck do _I_ have to do this anyway?"

Lavi propped his feet up on the table inside the government issued van as he sucked on his lollipop. "It's simple, Yuu. Lenalee's a chick, Allen's not experienced yet, and if I went, the gal would be too obsessed with my charming good looks to be able to function. So you gotta go by default." Putting the sucker back in his mouth, he smirked.

"Fuck you, dickhead. I don't see why Chief couldn't get another squad to go."

Lenalee sighed. "He trusts you Kanda, he knows you can do this."

If the Japanese man wasn't so stubborn, her words might have meant something to him. But, being Kanda, he chose to ignore her attempt at reassuring him.

Allen, who was sitting in the corner of the van, coughed into his gloved fist lightly. "I suppose I'm not allowed to know what's going on?"

Lavi stood up and fixed the collar of his button up shirt. "Naw, you're allowed to know. You just haven't asked yet."

"Oh." He blinked, looking up at the redhead. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Glad you asked!" The one-eyed man grinned. "We've got to get some information out of this lady, Lalabull. Right?" He turned to Lenalee, who began flipping through the case file in her hands.

"Lulubell," she said as she looked over the papers.

"Ah, yes. Lulubell," he waved his hand flippantly. "_Anyway, _she knows some stuff that we have to get her to tell us. That's Kanda's job." Elbowing the other man jokingly, he grinned. "He has to use his elite ways of seduction to coax it out of her."

"Y-you're fucking ridiculous, Cyclops." Kanda stammered as he looked down at the floor.

"It looks like _someone _is nervous for their first date." Lavi winked. Or did he blink? Winking was a skill that the poor man lacked.

"Shut your damn mouth." The dark-haired man sneered.

"Yeah, Lavi. This hardly qualifies as a first date." Lenalee tapped her chin, giving Kanda a once-over. "On first dates, the gentleman _always_brings flowers or something."

Nodding in agreement, Lavi snickered. "Yeah, and there's almost _always _a first kiss. Yuu, are you prepared for that?"

Needless to say, Kanda wasn't exactly well experienced in the women department. It wasn't because he was ugly or stupid. Kanda was far from either of those things. And it wasn't because women weren't attracted to him, because they most definitely were.

It might have been because he had the romantic charm of a rabid dog and he hated most of the world with every fiber of his being.

"But don't do anything extreme, Kanda. You don't want to scare her off!" Lenalee giggled as she elbowed Lavi in the ribs, who laughed lightly.

"Yeah, Yuu. And I know you guys are going to a bar, but don't drink too much. Ladies don't like it when their dates get drunk of the first date."

"Can you imagine it? Kanda getting wasted!" Lenalee gripped her sides as she and Lavi began laughing uncontrollably. The redhead was leaning up against the side of the van as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Yo, Lenaleach," he tried catching his breath. "That... that's gold."

"I know!" she said breathlessly.

Allen smiled as he watched the scene before him. Kanda sat tensely in his chair, his arms folded across his chest. Lavi and Lenalee finally caught their breath and were calming down when the radio hooked up to the wall beeped.

"_Detective Lee?_" A man's voice sounded through the airwaves.

Lenalee coughed and stood up straight, fixing her shirt. "Y-Yes?"

"_It's Reever._" The man said in a bored tone.

The Chinese girl waved her hand dismissively, looking relieved. "Oh, Reever, it's only you. What's up?"

"_The suspect has entered the bar,_" Reever said with a hint of seriousness in his voice. "_Is Detective Kanda ready?_"

Lenalee glanced at the Japanese man and smiled sheepishly. "Ready as he'll ever be."

"Whoo!" Lavi pumped his fist into the air. "It's time to rock n' roll, Yuu."

"Yeah, whatever, dickhead," he growled as he opened up the van door. As he walked towards the entrance to the bar, Lavi called out to him.

"I've got your back, Yuu!"

In all the years that Kanda has known the hyperactive redhead, he has concluded that when Lavi "has your back", he tends to only make the situation worse.

* * *

The bells on the door jingled as Kanda walked inside. The lights were dimmed and the place was quite relaxed, despite the low roar of the crowd.

"_Kanda? Can you hear me?_" Lenalee's voice coming through his ear piece unexpectedly made him jump.

"Yeah, and don't blow my fucking ear out next time," he whispered gruffly, glancing around to make sure no one was looking at him.

"_Whoops, my bad. But can you see her?_"

"See who?"

"_Lulubell! Get it together Kanda!_" She chastised. He instinctively prepared himself for the light smack on the head he would usually receive after a comment like that. When it never came, the Japanese man decided working with Lenalee out of reach like this is something he could get used to.

"Right, right," he said absentmindedly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he surveyed the occupants of the bar.

Then he saw her. She was sitting at the bar, swirling a glass of amber-colored liquid in her hand. Unfortunately for Kanda, there was an empty bar stool to her left calling his name.

With a deep sigh, he made his way towards her. _Fuck my life, why do I have to do this?_

Kanda slid on to the bar stool easily, and almost immediately the bartender eyed him expectantly. After ordering a simple beer, (He didn't plan of drinking much of it. He was still on duty.) he tapped his fingers on the wooden bar top, resting his chin in an upturned palm. He made sure he was aware of the woman's actions next to him, yet it seemed she paid him no mind.

Her hair was shining under the dim light, and she sat with her back curved in a way that would make any man stare. Maybe that's why he was chosen to do this instead of Lavi or the other officers.

"You don't come here often, do you?" Lulubell's alluring tone caught him off guard. Pushing his prior thoughts to the back of his mind, he focused on the task before him.

"Not really," he replied abruptly. Sipping from his bottle, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She posed no threat to him, or anyone else for that matter.

"You don't look the type to be here alone. Where's your girl?" She swirled the glass in her hands before downing the rest of it, then asked for another.

"Don't got one." He brought his bottle to his lips again, this time drinking more than before. He could hear Lavi laughing in his ear piece, and he remembered to murder the pirate-wannabe when he saw him again.

"Hmm, that's unfortunate." Angling her body towards the dark-haired man, she smiled. "So I'm guessing you're free tonight?"

"I don't wanna be here all night." His response was more directed to his partners listening outside, rather than Lulubell, who took it differently.

"Then let's go somewhere else." She sounded more like she was making casual conversation than seducing him. The blonde woman reached out and ran her fingers through Kanda's low ponytail. His body tensed under the contact, and she grinned. "What's wrong?"

Before he could reply, not that he planned on doing so, the bell on the bar door rang louder than usual. Kanda glanced behind him, only to be faced with the worst possible thing at that moment.

"Hey, bartender, lemme get a tall one," Lavi nodded at the man behind the counter as he slid onto the stool to Kanda's left.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Kanda managed, eyes wide with astonishment.

"Yuu? Is that you? Whoa, it's been a long time, champ. It's been a while!" the redhead grinned wildly, winking at the dark-haired man.

Lulubell rolled her eyes as she turned back towards the bar top. Kanda, who was caught completely off guard, tried his best to play along, despite how idiotic he thought this entire situation was.

"_Lavi's trying to help you, he knows what he's doing._" Lenalee said to him. Kanda faintly wondered what she was smoking, because it was obvious Lavi had _no idea _what he was doing.

"Wow, Yuu, is this your girl?" The one-eyed man obnoxiously reached across Kanda's lap, offering his hand to Lulubell. "Nice to meet ya, the name's Lavi," he said, smiling as sweetly as he could.

"...Hi." Taking his hand gingerly, she nodded to him.

"I didn't know you could score someone as pretty as her, Yuu," Lavi whispered loudly, elbowing his friend in the side.

"She's not my girlfriend! Wait, why the fuck am I explaining myself to you?" Kanda snapped, holding his bottle in his hands tighter than he probably should. His knuckles stood out white against the rest of his hand.

Lavi shrugged as he took a swig from his glass. "I dunno." Directing his attention towards Lulubell, he rested his chin in his hand. "Tell me about yourself, Miss...?"

"Call me Lulubell," she said, even though it appeared she wasn't paying the redhead much attention.

"Ah, Lulubell. That's a pretty name. So tell me more about yourself, Lulubell."

"I'd rather not-"

"No, no, tell us everything." The redhead gestured for her to go on, but Kanda grabbed his arm harshly.

"You're ruining everything, dipshit," he whispered with murderous intent.

"You're gonna thank me later, you were dying out here," Lavi whispered back in an equally angry tone.

From her seat next to Kanda, Lulubell sighed with boredom. Despite the liveliness Lavi brought out in Kanda, she had to admit she was rather irked at his cock-blockage. To be honest, she was hoping to score tonight.

"So, Yuu, how did you two meet?" Lavi smirked around the rim of his glass. "Was it romantic?"

Lulubell tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and coughed lightly. She really wasn't a fan of commitment, and she didn't like how nosy Lavi was being. Having just met the two men, she was seriously contemplating killing the both of them.

Kanda finished off his drink, and with a knowing look, the bartender brought him another.

"Shouldn't you be heading out soon?" the dark-haired man asked, his jaw tight. Lavi's very existence always bothered him, but at the moment, the redhead just being next to him was more than he could take.

"Naw, I've got all the time in the world. What about you?" He placed his half-filled glass onto the polished bar top. "You two aren't planning on skippin' out on me, are ya? I mean, I can leave if you really wanna set the mood."

Kanda slid off his bar stool, making absolutely sure he knocked Lavi's glass over on his way towards the door. The dark liquid spilled all over the redhead's white shirt, immediately staining the fabric.

Looking down at the mess, Lavi frowned. "I really liked this shirt, asshole."

"Did I do that?" Kanda tilted his head to the side, frowning. "My bad."

"What the fuck is your problem, man?" Lavi asked, not really as mad as he sounded.

"You. Everything about you, you're fucking killing me," Kanda growled back.

The two men stepped towards each other. Coming up to about the same height, they both looked equally angry.

"You need to chill the fuck out sometimes, _bro_," Lavi sneered, jabbing Kanda in the chest harshly.

"_You _need to shut the fuck up, because _you're_ the one who needs to chill the fuck out," Kanda replied, pushing Lavi away from him roughly. The one-eyed man stumbled back a few feet. The small crowd inside the room grew quiet as they mumbled amongst themselves.

Both men were tensed, ready to throw punches when the owner of the bar walked out before them. He was a very, very large man, with spiked black hair and arms bigger than Lavi and Kanda's heads. His bit down on the lollipop in his mouth and chewed the pieces loudly. The crackling of the candy sent shivers up Lavi's spine.

"I know _damn_ well," He cracked his knuckles menacingly. "that you two aren't about to start a fight in my bar."

"S-Skin fucking Bolic. What's up, man?" Lavi scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly as he recognized the man standing in front of him.

"Who the fuck is this guy?" Kanda asked Lavi shamelessly, jabbing his thumb in the large man's direction.

"Dude! Shut the hell up!" Lavi whispered, his green eye wide.

"Who am I?" Skin rubbed his forehead as he chuckled to himself. "I'm the guy who's bout'a throw your asses to the curb. Now, I'm gunna save you two the embarrassment, and I'm gunna let you both walk yourselves out, before I hafta do it for ya. Deal?"

Lavi nodded jerkily as he flipped Skin a salute. Kanda shrugged, deciding to avoid confrontation today. Walking towards the door, Lavi looked over his shoulder to see three empty bar stools.

"Where'd Lulubell go?" He asked, looking around him as he stepped outside.

"Who fucking cares? She wasn't going to tell us anything anyway. This was a waste of time." Kanda mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to will away the intense headache he felt coming on.

* * *

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	5. The Gambler

FIVE

Needless to say, the drive back from their failed assignment was one of the most intense and uncomfortable Allen had ever been in. He sat in the front seat of the van nervously, watching Lenalee drive from the corner of his eye. She normally wasn't a fan of driving the tech van, but she had deemed Kanda unfit to drive. He had a habit of making bad decisions when he was really angry, yet putting him in the back with Lavi wasn't that much of a smooth choice either.

Both men sat as far away from one another as possible, arms crossed, looking anywhere but at each other.

"You smell like beer," Kanda mumbled grouchily, sniffing the air around him.

Lavi gawked at the Japanese man. "Gee, Sam, I sure wonder why!" Pulling his shirt away from his stomach, he gazed down at the large stain down the front.

"You're a fucking punk, that's why!" Kanda snapped, narrowing his dark eyes.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Lenalee yelled, glaring at both men through the rear-view mirror. Her small hands were gripping the steering wheel with a little too much force. "Stop complaining, Lavi. It's just a shirt. You have spare shirts back at the station."

Lavi, who absolutely hated getting chewed out by his best lady-friend, shut his mouth and looked down at the floor with a hint of shame in his green eye.

Her dark eyes flickered to Kanda. "Kanda, just...just go home." Raking her fingers through her long hair, she sighed. "As a matter of fact, all of you can go home."

As they pulled into the precinct parking lot, a heavy silence fell upon the four.

Opening the van door, Allen slid out of the the passenger seat, his shoes hitting the concrete with a dull thud. Lenalee did the same, while Kanda and Lavi hopped out the back of the van.

Kanda immediately stalked straight to his car, slamming the door as he got in. Tires screeched as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Walking up to Allen, Lavi ruffled his white hair. "Don't worry," he said soothingly. "he doesn't have days this bad very often."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was worried about," the British man replied sarcastically, smiling weakly.

Lavi grinned, shouldering the shorter man lightly as they walked into the station. "Oh, how I love the British."

**oOoOo**

After they returned to the station, Lavi had wandered off somewhere, leaving Allen to hunt him down. Having looked mostly everywhere, the only place left was the bathroom.

"Lavi?" Allen called out as he opened the bathroom door. "Are you in here?" Turning the corner, he was surprised to see the redhead half-naked, standing at the sink. He was washing his stained shirt in the sink, leaving him in nothing but a pair of black jeans.

"You're at work, for heaven's sake. Put some clothes on," the British man deadpanned.

Red eyebrows waggled. "Don't act like you weren't enjoying the visual buffet that is before you." Lavi smirked as he turned off the faucet and began wringing out his shirt.

"Don't be stupid," Allen replied, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Whatever, Al." Pushing the bathroom door open, he walked into the public of the station shamelessly. Allen followed him, simultaneously astonished and intrigued.

Glancing around him, he realized no one was paying any mind to Lavi's shirtlessness. Was this normal?

Lenalee looked up from the papers on her desk, catching eye of her redhead co-worker and sighed. "Lavi, please put a shirt on."

"I can't find one, Lenaleach!" the one-eyed man whined.

Rubbing her temples, Lenalee sighed. "Go look in the locker room."

Lavi snapped his fingers, realization flashing on his face. "Oh, yeah! Thanks, Lenalee," he said, hurrying down the hall to the locker room. Lenalee returned to the paperwork on her desk, looking very tired and stressed.

"What's wrong, Lenalee?" Allen asked quietly, hoping not to frustrate her anymore.

"It's nothing, Al. I just have all this paperwork to do..." She suddenly smacked her forehead in exasperation. "_And _I have to go talk to Anita with Kanda and Lavi tomorrow!" Grabbing a fistful of her dark hair, she groaned. "I can't get this all done by then."

Allen coughed into his fist lightly. "Well, Lenalee, if you want, I could go with Lavi and Kanda instead."

Lenalee's face lit up at the idea. She grabbed Allen's hand and held it to her heart. "Oh my gosh, Allen, that would be so awesome of you! Are you sure?"

The white-haired man chuckled. "It's no problem at all."

"Thank you so much!" the Chinese girl smiled. "You probably won't have to do much, I think Kanda and Lavi have it handled."

"Hopefully." Allen grinned sheepishly. Lenalee gave him a wink, then returned the work ahead of her. The British man waved her a quick goodbye, then made his way out the door to catch a cab.

**oOoOo**

Walking through the doors of the precinct, Allen was confident in his assignment that day. All he had on his plate was an easy day tagging along with Lavi and Kanda. He smiled to himself as he looked forward to the simple task.

The white-haired man walked up to his desk, passing Kanda along the way.

"Why the hell do you keep coming back here, anyway?" the Japanese man grumbled, looking away from him.

Allen paused as he turned around slowly. Staring at the older man blankly, he shook his head. "Sometimes, I think there's something seriously wrong up there," he commented, tapping his head with his finger for emphasis.

"Shut the fuck up," Kanda retorted, crossing his arms across his chest. Leaning back in his chair, the dark-haired man silently thanked the sky above that he would get the day away from the annoying brat. Maybe someone up there did love him.

That thought quickly flew out the window when Allen's next words left his mouth. "Will I get to meet Anita, too?" he asked as he laid his jacket over the back of his chair.

Kanda frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "What are you talking about?"

Allen blinked. "Lenalee didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what, brat?" the Japanese man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm taking her place today because she's-"

"Fuckin' great!" Kanda interrupted furiously, earning the attention of some of his nearby co-workers. "Just when I thought I could get away from that stupid, annoying face of yours."

"It's not a bloody picnic for me either, jerk!" Allen retorted, slightly embarrassed. He had learned to never take anything Kanda says to heart, but to his surprise, he was a little offended at how someone could detest being with him that much.

Sighing heavily, Kanda leaned back in his chair again. "You and your dumb British face and your dumb, fucked up accent. I've known you for like, three fuckin' days and I can't stand you already," he replied, rather lazily.

"I don't understand what I ever did to you," Allen commented, looking away from him.

"How about walking in here in the first place?" the Japanese man grumbled as he grabbed his blazer off the back of his chair and pulled it on.

"Don't be such an arse," Allen huffed, rolling his gray eyes passionately. He sat with his elbows rested on the desk, watching the older man opposite of him.

"Oh my god, just _stop_ talking," the Japanese man growled, scowling.

"It seems to me that you're always the one who's talking. I think you pick fights with me because you're_ lonely_. Are you lonely, Kanda?" Allen asked innocently, resting his chin in his upturned palms.

"I'm not fucking lonely," Kanda muttered. "Wait, why do you even care?"

"Oh, I'm just watching out for that jolly ol' companion of mine," Allen replied with fake sincerity, even though it seemed Kanda couldn't tell the difference.

"I'm not your 'jolly ol' companion'," The dark-haired man replied, glaring at the younger man.

Lavi walked up to his desk, grinning. "You guys are still alive? I thought that if I left for, like, a minute, I would come back to find at least one of you mutilated or something."

"Shut it, Red. Are we going or what?" Kanda asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, hold up." Lavi grabbed a key from his key chain and unlocked the top drawer of his desk.

Allen watched as the redhead pulled out his gun and slipped it into the holster around his waist. He faintly wondered if the day would ever come where he would watch Lavi use that weapon.

The one-eyed man's voice broke Allen's thoughts. "Hey, Al, stop daydreamin'. Let's go!"

Nodding, the British man shrugged his own jacket on and followed his partners out the door.

**oOoOo**

Sliding out of the back seat, Allen looked up to see a tall, tall building before him. "Anita is in _there_?" he asked, pointing at the front doors.

Lavi hummed in acknowledgment. "Mm-hmm."

"She owns it," Kanda replied curtly. They walked across the (dead) parking lot and up to the large doors. Allen strained his eyes in an attempt to see through the dark glass. "What exactly is this pla-"

The word died out before leaving his mouth. Kanda had pushed the door open, and the once quiet building immediately sprung to life. Rows and rows of lottery machines lined the middle of the large room, with bright neon lights shining overhead.

Kanda and Lavi had continued walking, obviously not finding the casino as interesting as Allen was. The white-haired man hurried to catch up to his partners.

"Anita owns a casino?" Allen asked with disbelief. He watched the people sitting at the slots as he walked by, mostly old women and men in mid-life crises.

The British man began wandering deeper into the casino floor. In the back, card tables sat, dealers throwing out cards with expertise to the unlucky players oblivious to the fact that their chance in winning was close to 10,000 to 1.

Allen quickly remembered the purpose for his trip here. "So, where do we find Miss Anita?" he asked. When no answer came, he turned around, only to be met with open air. "Guys?"

He spun around in a quick circle. "Lavi? Kanda? Wait, why would I want to find Kanda?" He made a face, dismissing the idea from his head. The gray-eyed man chuckled to himself, realizing the situation he had just put himself in. "Oh, joy. This should be a bloody fun adventure."

With nothing more to lose, Allen ventured further, glancing at the various table games being played around him. Immediately, a small, round table nested in the back corner of the room caught his eye.

A very pale man with limp, black and white hair sat hunched in a chair, wearing nothing but his boxers. Around him sat three other men, all with cards in their hands.

Allen's heart went out to the man, and he cautiously walked up to the table. "Erm... Pardon me, sir, but it seems you've gotten yourself in quite a predicament."

Sniffling, the black-haired man pushed his hair out of his eyes. "...Yes."

"It looks like you were gambling," Allen commented, surveying the table in front of him. "That's how you lost your clothes?"

"...Yes." Looking down at his trembling hands, the man frowned. "I don't even know how to play..._poker._"

Allen clapped his hands together, making the pale man next to him jump at the noise. "Ah, sir. If it's poker you're playing, allow me to win your clothes back for you.

The tanned-skin man sitting across the table laid his cards down. "Reckless, aren't we?"

Allen looked up, his attention drawn to the sensual voice that rang in his ears. The man had dark, wavy hair and had a pair of round glasses on his face. Judging from his accent, Allen guessed he was Portuguese.

"Reckless?" The white-haired man smirked, sitting down in a chair and began shuffling the deck of cards. "No, sir, it's skill."

The Portuguese man smiled a white grin, leaning back in his char. "All right, boy. Let's see what you've got."

**oOoOo**

"A royal flush?" the three men, now wearing only their boxers, exclaimed as they laid their eyes on the cards Allen placed on the table.

Smiling innocently, the British man grabbed the pile of clothes from the floor. "Well, gentlemen, it seems I have won. Now, my friend and I..." Blinking, Allen turned to the man beside him. "I didn't catch your name."

Wiping his nose, he smiled. "Arystar Krory, the third."

Allen nodded, handing Krory his clothes. "Yes, Krory and I shall be leaving now."

"Wait, boy," the wavy-haired man said as he put his clothes back on. "I call a rematch."

"Err, well... I really must be going now. You see, I have-"

"Yeah, it's cool. When am I going to get to see you again?" he asked, grinning.

"I'm not exactly sure, sir."

"_Please_," Gazing intently at Allen over the rims of his glasses, he smirked. "Call me Tyki."

Suddenly feeling a tad bit uncomfortable with the look Tyki was giving him, Allen smiled weakly. "Um, okay. Goodbye, Tyki."

Krory followed the British man as he walked away from the table. "I want to thank you again, Mr. Walker. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up," he said, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, nothing to worry about, Krory. I don't think I'm able to walk away from a game of poker," Allen replied, smiling.

"How did you get so good at it?" the taller man asked admiringly.

"Err... I've just had a lot of practice," Allen replied, the smile on his face faltering for a quick second.

As they walked out of the rows of slot machines, Allen spotted Kanda and Lavi from across the floor. Smiling weakly, he sighed with relief. Who knows the trouble he would have gotten into if he had really lost them.

They turned around, and the white-haired man waved.

"Those are your friends?" Krory asked.

"You could say that," the British man replied, watching as Lavi ran towards him. "I'll be seeing you around, Krory."

The pale man nodded, smiling as he walked off.

"Allen!" Lavi cried melodramatically, immediately throwing his arms around the smaller man. "I was so scared! I thought I had lost you!"

He patted the redhead on the back lightly. "Lavi...I was gone for a matter of-" He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "-twenty minutes."

"That doesn't matter!" Lavi sniffled. "You could have been gone for five minutes and I wouldn't have missed your British ass any less."

"Oh my god, _shut up,_" Kanda groaned from behind them.

Allen smirked, pulling away from the one-eyed man. "Kanda, did you miss me too?"

The Japanese man glared down at Allen. "You seriously want to be punched in the mouth, don't you?"

Allen coughed and tried for an innocent look. "Why, of _course _not." Flashing a smile, he looked back and forth between his two partners. "Now, if you gentlemen are all finished here, we should be off, no?"

Returning the smile, Lavi walked next to Allen as they made their way towards the main doors.

Kanda reluctantly followed the two, shoving his fists in his pockets. "Cheeky brat."

* * *

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